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I recently posted some information about improvements in the U.S. regarding marine by-catch. While there may be some overall improvements, specific issues come up from time to time that require consideration and action.
One such issue is taking place regarding the Hawaiian swordfish longline fisheries and new proposed regulations that would allow an increase in the number of sets (fishing gear deployments) in addition to an increase in the number of legally-allowed sea turtle entanglements.
To meet the industrial-strength demands for seafood, longline fishing has grown over the years, but it is a very indiscriminate method of fishing, generating tremendous levels of by-catch ranging from sharks to whales and dolphins to sea turtles and even sea birds. The vast majority of the by-catch is wasted as it does not have sufficient economic value to the boats. While some improvements in methods and hooks have been made, many conservation groups look to the statistics as to their ultimate effectiveness: the continued drop in overall populations of many of these accidentally-caught species and the growing numbers seen caught, entangled, and/or killed in longlines as recorded by federally-mandated observers.
The proposed new regulations has been making the rounds of the local Hawaiian press and several NGOs, including Oceana and the Sea Turtle Restoration Project have been pushing hard with campaigns to make the National Marine Fisheries Service reconsider the proposed new regulations, which came about as a recommendation from the commercial fishery group, Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
Look into it and let your voice be heard.
Following up on yesterday's posting, here's some information I just received from Oceana.org about a proposed U.S. commercial fishing regulation that needs some strengthening:
Our high demand for seafood has changed the way we fish. There are more ships at sea, there is more money fueling the fleets and advances in technology have brought about new gear and practices. Ironically, these "advances" have resulted in inefficient and irresponsible fishing. Bottom trawlers, longlines, and gillnets allow fishermen to catch unsustainably huge amounts of fish and other marine life, destroying the very resource they depend on. After years and years of overfishing, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has finally proposed a rule to combat this unsustainable and damaging practice. Unfortunately, the rule falls dangerously short in a number of ways. This rule is long overdue and has the potential to change the face of our fisheries management. The solution to the overfishing crisis can be summed up in three words: count, cap and control. These principles are noticeably absent from the Administration's proposed rule.
This rule is long overdue and has the potential to change the face of our fisheries management. The solution to the overfishing crisis can be summed up in three words: count, cap and control. These principles are noticeably absent from the Administration's proposed rule.
Count - count all of the fish caught, including the ones discarded at sea.
Cap - set a limit on mortality amount for all populations
Control - actively manage fisheries to end and prevent overfishing. This control must be paired with enforcement to ensure that management is truly effective.
Not only are the three C's missing, the rule also fails to set limits on domestic fishing of international species and it does not call for a full assessment of the rule's environmental impacts.
This rule will affect every fish stock and fishery in the United States. It's vitally important to get this rule right the first time around. Now that Congress has finally mandated an end to the problem, let's not waste the opportunity with a flawed proposal. Please take action today.
For the oceans,
Buffy Baumann
Fisheries Advocate
Oceana
In commercial fishing, "by-catch" has come to mean any sealife that is unintentionally caught. Depending on the fishing or netting techniques used, this can include a wide variety of sealife - from non-commercial species to prohibited or endangered species to commercial species that do not have a lucrative enough sales value (known as "highgrading").
By-catch is typically discarded and that discarded percentage of the boat's total catch can range from 4% to a staggering 80%, depending on the prevailing regulations for a particular country's territorial waters. As an example, Norway has regulations in place that favor the lower percentages and generally induces fisherman to better utilize their catch commercially or use more effective netting techniques to reduce the overall level of by-catch.
However, the European Union (EU) has less restrictive regulations, allowing fisherman to dump enormous percentages of their catch - as much as 80% has been recorded (see video) - with very little chance of survival for the discarded animals. In fact, due to co-operative fishing rights, UE fisherman can fish in Norwegian waters, then sail back into UE waters and dump their by-catch!
Organizations like Oceana.org are pressuring EU governments to adopt regulations like Norway's but are getting resistance from the EU commercial fishing industry. The fact that Norway's regulations are effective and help support the conservation of commercially viable species, thereby protecting the longevity of the Norwegian fishing industry, seems to escape the EU's abilities of comprehension. According to Ricardo Aguilar, Oceana Europe's Research Director, "Wasting fishing resources is a global problem. However, the magnitude it reaches in European waters is unacceptable, especially when 88% of EU stocks are overfished."
Read Oceana.org press release.
I recently posted some information about improvements in the U.S. regarding marine by-catch. While there may be some overall improvements, specific issues come up from time to time that require consideration and action.
